Spirited Away: The Return Home
by Zwinky
Summary: Chihiro, now 17 years old, hates everything about her life. All she wants to do is get away from her parents, who thinks she's a delinquent, and her school. The only thing keeping her there is the entrance to the world she wishes she could return to. So how will things play out when her parents tell her that they're moving?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It was a hot summer day on the last day of school. After the principle had done the cliché announcements about having a "safe" and "fun" summer and that he, and of course the entire staff can't wait to see our smiling faces next year. I still don't understand what that's all about, they tell us to have a fun break, but at the same time we have to be safe when were out. How's that possible? Pulling my bag over one shoulder I followed the masses until I reached the main gates of my school. I really did hate this school. I hated the people in it, I hated the teachers, and I hated the subjects. So basically I hated everything related to the stupid school. Luckily I had only one year left and then I would go as far away as possible from this boring town. I walked past all the students starting their cars and started my long walk home. It was quite pathetic actually, I was already seventeen but my parents wouldn't even consider letting me drive the car on my own. Something about public safety, I tended to stop listening once the lecture started. Of course I haven't given up hope, the day will come when I, Chihiro, will be allowed to drive my own car without my mother sitting next to me and restraining herself from jumping over me and grabbing the wheel. But until that day came I was stuck walking home to out still blue house on the top of the hill. I guess it wasn't that bad, because thanks to that hill I can at least wear a bikini without having to squirm for cover whenever some guy happens to look my way, which doesn't even happen. But a girl can dream can't she. Back when I was about ten years old I use to be cute and scared of everything. But spending a few days in another world tends to change how you see some things in the world I currently live in. Of course this only played a minor role in the transformation I had around the age of thirteen when I started to think stuffed animals where for girly girls and I fell in love with my first pair of ripped skinny jeans. My parents never really understood why this happened, they tried very hard to convince me that I only had one identity and that I didn't want to give people the wrong idea about me. After none of these attempts succeeded they tried sending me to a friend of theirs that had a degree in psychology, but head games have never really worked on my either. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of gothic chick or a tom boy. I simply choose to wear a tight pair of grey leggings instead of a skirt so short that people could see my butt. Since it was so hot out today I had decided on my favorite pair of ripped grey shorts, a loose fitting red shirt with a low v-collar and a pair of light brown combat boots. My hair which had grown out fell all the way down my to the middle of my back where it started to curl a little and no matter what I did, or how many times I straighten it, the curls just came back after hours of nail biting pain. After about ten minutes of walking I finally reached the front gate of our house. Most people that have seen our house assumed we were rich, and even though my dad made a huge amount of money through sales, the house was quite small on the inside. "I'm home!" a yelled once I had put my bad down on the kitchen table. This action in itself was a huge waste of air since there was no one home this early, and even if there was they would be so busy with what not that they wouldn't reply in any case. Ever since my personality had changed so drastically my relationship with my parents had taken a turn for the worse. It felt as if they never really accepted who I really am and that they might wish to have their little girl back and that no matter what I did to prove I was still me they would still look down on me. That was another thing a hated. I guess you could say I wasn't a very positive person when I came to most things those days. Grabbing a can of Fanta from the fridge I walk out onto the porch that overlooked the ocean down under. If there were two things I didn't hate in this town it was the view of the ocean and woods that stretched out like a green blanket next to our house. My parents had strictly forbid me from entering the woods alone ever since I had gotten lost after moving. If only they knew the reason I had been in the woods in the first place, and it had not been because I had followed a butterfly. But since I never listened to my parents in any case I would go jogging in the woods whenever my parents were not home, like now. Tossing the can in the bin on my way up stairs I grabbed my phone which I had forgotten on the kitchen table before I went to school earlier in the day. I took the stared two, if not three, at a time I made it to my room in no time at all. My room was actually very boring with only the basics that a room needed. A queen sized bed had been stuffed in the corner of my room and a bedside table next to it. Across from my bed I had a desk with all things school related stacked on it, a problem for another hour or should I say life time of course. On my 15th birthday my parents had bought me an antique bookcase that I get on the side of the room opposite my window which looked out over the ocean. The only thing in my room that I actually liked was the old piano that almost needed to be tuned, something would have to pay with my own money most likely. My skills on the piano were good, even if I had to say so myself. And my voice wasn't half bad either. Not that anyone knew this of course. I had a small walk in closet which I practically had to bolt shut because of the amounts of cloths practically waiting to avalanche down on me every time I had to get something to wear. Luckily I had pulled out some tights, a T-shirt and my running shoes before I left for school this morning. Ten minutes later I was standing in front of the hiking trail that led straight to the heart of the woods. Cranking my music up until I could hear nothing other than my hour long Tomorrrowland mix blasting in my ears through my new headphones I started to jog down the path. Since I loved the woods I was almost in heaven when I was jogging in them since it was the closest I ever felt to the spirit world and him. Of course I given up long time on getting back, not that I didn't try. For about one year since I got back I had begged my parents to take me back to the entrance of what my father had assumed was an old amusement park building, but on the other side there would be nothing other than more and more woods. After the pain of not being able to go back started to fade away and I had almost started to believe that all of the things that happened were simply a big dream. Until the day I got lost in the woods. It was actually a very cold day, but I hadn't noticed the grey sky and the wind that tore through the land almost as if trying to force people to stay inside their houses the entire day. This also happened to be the day that I found the hiking trail that I was currently jogging on, but back then I still had no idea where the trail led or if it even led anywhere. Walking as fast as my little legs could carry me I had followed the path until there was fork in the road. Like they most people say I took the road less traveled, not knowing that those words supposed to be metaphorically and not literally. The road continued to head steadily downhill until the path suddenly stopped in the middle of nowhere, there wasn't even I hint that the path had ever continued further then where it had stopped. But when you're as curios as I was then those things tended not to stop you so I started moving through the under growth of the woods without once again noticing the loud roar that started over head. It wasn't until large drops of rain started to fall from the heavens that I realized it was time to turn around and head back home. That wouldn't have been a problem if only I could have remembered the way home. Turning around in circles I tried hard to remembered what way had come, but my attempts where futile since I had no idea which way it was. That left me with only one option, and that was to find shelter for the duration of the rain. Luckily the idea was soothing since the alternative was reliving titanic once it started really raining. Cautiously I started walking the path I had been following again, taking care not to fall over roots and rocks. After a few minutes the rain started getting worse and the ground beneath my feet started turning into mud. After another ten minutes of carefully balancing on rocks and roots to avoid the mud this time I finally saw my salvation, a little rock ledge with braches hanging so low that the rock was dry enough for me to sit on. Unfortunately I had been so excited about this place to rest that I hadn't been careful when I practically sprinted to the shelter. A few feet away from my destination I slipped, a slip that sent me careering down a hill I had been so carefully avoiding. To this day I'm still not sure what exactly had happened from that moment on, but I was sure that while I was lying motionless at the bottom of the hill I saw a figure hunching over me and picking me up, but that's where I passed out. When I woke up later on I was in my bed with both my parents leaning over my, waiting for me to open my eyes. Apparently they had found me lying on the porch, covered in mud and I had a small cut on my head from where I must have bumped it. I told them about the person that helped me, but they said it was all in my mind. It took me a while to realize that it had to be him, who else could it be? But then again, why would he have just left me on the porch? I was already mad at him for breaking his promise of finding me again and if it had been him then I was also mad at him for leaving me behind and not taking my back with him. Anyway, back to the present. I took care not to jog the wrong way as I wove through the under growth and over fallen branches. I truly did love these woods. My jog ended much quicker than I had hoped it would and before I knew it, here I am standing on the back porch. I took off my muddy shoes and left them on the porch as I entered the house, there would be more than enough time to clean them before my parents got home and see that I've been running in the woods again. I pleaded with my numb legs to just make it up the stairs and into the bathroom and then I would give them their long awaited shave and even put on some sweet smelling cream that I never even used. The seemed to hear my silent prayer and started to drag me up the stairs until I was standing in front of the shower in my bathroom. Throwing my dirty clothes into the washing bin next to the toilet I turned the taps, letting the water flow for a few seconds while I untied my hair and pulled a brush through it a few times to calm the curls. The shower was just what I needed and like the run it was over faster than I had bargained for, but I had to get my shoes before my parents came home and discovered them. I would never be allowed to near the woods again; my parents would most likely ask our annoying neighbor to check up on me whenever they were at work. The lady next, Orihime (or the Hag as I called her), was old and nasty. She believed that all children were delinquents and she claims that that's the reason why she never had any of her own. I believe it's because no man on earth would even consider touching her with a five foot pole in fear of melting. But of course my parents believe she is as saint sent from heaven above, a true blessing that has been bestowed to us. Pulling a towel around my naked body I walked back to my own room. Luckily parents still weren't home so I didn't have to worry about one of them seeing me practically half naked and dripping water all the way down the hall. I put on my favorite pair of pajamas, which I had to wrestle out of my closet, and went over to my laptop to check if I had any mail, but the big fat zero indicated that there was none of the sort. Going over to the piano I pulled some sheet music so that it was in front of me as I sat down on the tiny little bench that had come with the piano. The pieces name was "River flows in you" by Yiruma and I guessed the only reason I loved it so much was because it reminded me of the spirit world and especially about him, silly right? Other than that I practically knew ever Christina Aguilera piece that can be played on the piano off by heart and could even sing along with it, hitting the high notes perfectly. Once my fingers started to move over the notes it was like time stood still and everything came to an abrupt halt around me. The music played around me and die melody went straight to my soul. The piece wasn't very hard and most people found it extremely annoying, but it was that quality that made the song sound like and actual river running through me. It was so cliché that I might as well have put on a short skirt and called myself normal, but at least that would never happen. I had been so caught up in the beautiful sound of the piano that I hadn't heard to deathly sound of the front door opening and closing. So it wasn't until my mother and father where standing in my room, not looking all that happy. At first I wondered what I was in trouble for this time and I also realized that if they had gone through the trouble to come and scold me together that it had to be something big. Racking my brain I tried to thing all the things they could have found out about, but coming up blank... Until I saw my muddy shoes that was on the porch and was now dangling from my father's finger tips. Shit. I had totally forgotten about them. "Mom. Dad, what a pleasant surprise" I said meekly, knowing that no amount of groveling would get me out of this one. Not that I would ever grovel, there had to be some standards right? "We had one rule Chihiro, one rule and that was that you are not allowed to go into the woods on your own. Don't tell me you've already forgotten what the reason for this rule is?" my mother voice was deathly, warning me that one snippy answer would lead to severe punishment. I pushed my bangs behind my ears and looked anywhere else other than my parents who were practically steaming by the ears. "No mom, I haven't forgotten the reason" I said since nothing else could make it past my lips "Then why? Please tell us what's been going on the past few years? Tell us so that we can help you?" my dad added after a brief awkward silence. All this statement did was make me furious. They made it sound like I had some mental disorder, or that maybe I was doing all these things just to make them crazy, since that's exactly what delinquents did. A another awkward silence hung in the air like a stink that wouldn't go away, except this one seemed to go on forever until my mother finally spoke up again. "So that's all you have to say? That you broke the rules knowing that it was not allowed? What are we going to do with you?" I was barely paying attention at this point in the conversation, because I knew that the end result would be me being grounded for the rest of my teenage years. I didn't even have the energy to get mad at them, I was just numb from trying to explain to them that I wasn't going crazy or planning to rob a store or something. I was done. "Seeing as were already fighting I think it's time that we discuss something your father and I have been talking about for a while now" my mother said. Now this got my attention. "Honey, I don't now is the appropriate time to tell her-" my father tried to get out, but my mother interrupted "No. Now is as good a time as any other". My father let out a sigh and took a step back. "Chihiro, we have been trying to think of ways to get things back to the way they use to be. Back to when we could still talk to you and to things as a family" she paused. The air seemed to grow thick with anticipation and my heart was racing at the speed of light. "We decided that the best thin g for all of us at this moment would be..." she started and stopped suddenly. I braced myself, wondering what it would be this time. Juvi? Boarding School? Living with Orihime for a short while?

"Chihiro, were moving".


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Chihiro, were moving".

The words made their way to my one ear and left just as quickly through the other one, not stopping to be registered by what was between my ears. Then again, at this moment there was the possibility of the thing that use to be a brain was short circuiting or something. Sentences started to form in my mouth. Long sentences. Some of them containing words that my parents most likely didn't even know existed. How could they to this? Move where exactly? I also didn't understand why they thought that this was the best solution to a problem that wasn't even really a problem according to me. I mean we all know what happened the last time we moved. All these thoughts ran around in my head, but the only one that seemed to get past the iron defense that was my mouth was "WHAT?!". It took me a few moments to realize that I had yelled it rather than just said it like I had planned to, but it seemed that I underestimated myself in the state I was in that can normally be classified a shock or anything in that line. "You want to do what?!" I tried again, standing up from the piano bench which seemed to have gotten as hot as if my parents had made a fire underneath it. "Calm down Chihiro" my mother said "this is going to be for the best, you might now see it now but things will all work out". All the anger that couldn't seem to have formed a few minutes ago now started to bubble its way out from the deepest corners of my heart. "What is going work out for the better mom? Don't tell me you guys think that moving away is going to turn us back into the picture perfect family we use to be? Have you ever thought that maybe if you guys where home more often then maybe things would never even have turned out this way! I have been dying inside for so long and neither one of you ever took the time to notice!" I screamed at them. They seemed to be shell shocked by my outburst since it took my father a few seconds to form a response, which were still a few years before my mom could even blink her eyes. "Of course we realized that something was wrong sweetheart, that's why we decided that moving was the best thing at this moment since nothing else seems to be getting through to you" dad said, trying to keep his cool when my mom was still trying to figure out how blinking worked. "Listen, we'll leave you alone for the night and talk about this in the morning. Your mom seems to have stopped functioning" my dad said taking my mom by the arm and gently pulling her out of my room. Once they were out I threw myself onto my bed and started to cry. Years of holding back seemed to have built a dam behind my eyes because when the tears started they didn't stop until almost an hour later. I wiped my face dry on the sleeve of my shirt and sat up, trying to think of ways to convince my parents that there were about to make the biggest mistake of their life. Taking me away from the one thing that kept me going each days was only going to make everything worse than they already are. I needed to get away from here, I just needed some time away from my parents so that I could focus my thoughts I figure out what my next move was going to be. Obviously reasoning with my parents was a very bad idea since we weren't at the same level with this situation so that left me with only one option. Pulling my closet door open I grabbed the nearest backpack I could find. Now the hard part was deciding what I would take and what I would leave behind. I didn't plan on going away for a very long time, just long enough to scare my parents. Then when I return they won't try to move anymore because they know I'll just run again. In my backpack I stuffed my phone, phone charger, my Beats headphones, two pairs of clean underwear, a pair of denim shorts and a matching shirt, a cotton jersey and finally my Vans sneakers. After I had placed my backpack, now almost over flowing, onto my bed and went back to my closet to put on a pair of khaki jeans, dark brown combat boots and a black knitted sweater that I bought at this boutique and I felt was perfect for just this occasion. I sat there contemplating if what I was doing was the best idea and when the clock stroke twelve I snapped into action, pulling the backpack securely over my shoulder until it sat comfortably between my shoulder blades. Now I needed to get out of the house. Climbing over my bed I peered out of the window to see if it could be a possible escape and it seems that some force had to approve of my plans since there was a ladder just next to my window. My dad had to have left it there when he had cleaned them last weekend. Then came the tricky part, now I had to get myself onto the ladder which meant I had to hang out of the window and move my body sideways until I felt the first step of the ladder under my boot. Shifting my body so that I had one hand and one foot on the ledge of my window I brought my hand up to hold onto the gutter that was a bit above my head. Once it felt save enough I brought my other hand up next to where my left hand currently was and then got my feet together on the step of the ladder. Luckily now the hardest part was over and getting down the ladder was easy. As my feet hit the ground I took off in a silent run, the cold air whipping through my free hair and sending strands of it in my face. I wasn't exactly sure where it was I was going but it also didn't seem to matter since my feet where moving on their own accord. I slowed down a bit once I hit the hill next to our house since I didn't want to fall and break something now, it would be pretty embracing to have my parents open the front door and find me there. I still made quick work of the hill and before I realized it I was standing in the road that led to the old amusement park building. I hadn't planned on going there, but in a way it sort of made sense that I would. But then again, it was the first place my parents would go looking for me once they noticed that I wasn't there anymore. If they noticed. I started to turn around when something suddenly caught my attention. There was a light at the edge of the woods, a light that hadn't been there the last time a came here. I walked over to the edge of the woods just to find the light was further down the road then I had originally thought. Following the light I started moving down the road, but every time I thought that I had reached the light it seemed to move further away from me. Almost as if it had legs... Still I kept walking, listening to the sounds of the earth and my boots crushing things beneath me. After another ten minutes I reached the entrance to the old amusement park and once again the light had moved to the inside which was when I realized that the light had to have feet because there was no way that I could have seen it from the road outside the woods. But still I moved on, my steps echoing around me as I walked through the narrow passage that I knew led to nothing. I was nearing the end of the long passage when my heart started to race and my palms started to sweat. Unfortunately all this went away when my brain kicked in and reminded me that this wasn't the first time I was trying to get back into the Spirit World and it most likely wouldn't be the last time. The main room looked exactly like it did the last time, abandoned and cold. But not dark, this was because what appeared to be a black coat rack with a lamp hanging on it that stood in the middle of the room. Something inside my head stirred, something that I was supposed to remember but couldn't for some odd reason. I walked up to it and touched the cold black metal, but to my surprise it wasn't cold. I was starting to get a little freaked out when a gust of wind suddenly blew through the room, coming from where I had entered and going out of the door in front of me. I knew this door all the well; this was the door that for some reason denied me the pleasure of going back the world I wanted to be in. Taking a deep breath I walked up to the door, put my hand on the knob and closed my eyes. Something felt different this time, almost as if this time I would open the door to find fields of green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see, with the occasional creepy rock statue peering over the edge of the grass. Slowly my hand turned the knob and the door opened when I pulled it to me. Collecting myself I slowly opened one eye and then another. I almost started to cry, because in front of me was not the world that I had hoped there to be. No, in front of me was a path that led deeper into the woods. Out of frustration I slammed the door and stalked over to the nearest bench. It was already two o'clock in the morning I realized with a start when I checked my watch. My parents wouldn't realize I was gone for a few hours and since I had nowhere else to go a cuddle up onto the bench I was sitting on, using my bag as a pillow. It seemed pointless to try and go somewhere else and here I at least felt safe since the chance of another person wondering this deep into the woods where almost zero. Thinking about what could have happened I closed my eyes and slowly fell into a deep deep sleep.

Sunshine filtering through the window above my bench caused me to stir from my restless sleep. But because my legs were cramping from being in the same position all night I had no choice but to get up. The first few steps where hard because my whole body was so stiff, but after pacing a while I started to loosen up again. Looking at my watch I saw to my amazement that it was already around two in the afternoon, how was that even possible? I had never slept so late in my entire life, but then again, I haven't had this much problems that kept bugging me before. And I was good that I got up when I did because now I could hear that thing that had woken my up wasn't the light, but it was two male voices that sounded like they came from the entrance. "The parents said that she use to come down here when she was younger, maybe it's worth taking a look at it then" the one man said. The other man agreed and I heard their feet moving towards me. Obviously my parents had phoned the police and if they found me now then I wouldn't have been away long enough to get them to listen to me. Turning in circles I searched for an escape route, but there seems to be only to ways into the building and since the people I was avoiding was in the one entrance I was left with only the other way out. Pulling my bag onto my back I ran to the door. I opened the door without thinking, looking over my shoulder one last time and slipped through without making a sound. Once outside I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wooden door, feeling as if my heart was about to explode from my chest. I wondered what Orihimi would say about me running from the police. I actually made a grunting noise as I imagined her telling my parents that she knew this day would arrive sooner or later. The cool breeze played across my skin and the rays of the sun felt as if it was heating me from the outside in. Wait. I was in die middle of the woods; the sun's rays couldn't possibly reach me under all the branches of the trees. I opened my eyes and gasp, because in front of me was the most beautiful grass field I had ever seen. My knees buckled and I sat down right there in the dirt, not caring that my jean was getting dirty. It was a miracle, a wonderful miracle. I was finally back in die Spirit World.

Back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

After a few minutes of joyful crying I pulled myself up, using the wall against my back to steady myself since my legs were still a little wobbly from running from the cops and getting back into the Spirit World. Dusting of the sand that had plastered itself onto my jean I started moving forward, testing the stability of my legs a bit. Once it seemed safe enough to walk I set out on a steady stride on the small stone path that led to the town before me. I couldn't actually see it, but I remember how close it was as good as if I had been there the previous day. The grass was a bit taller than I remember and one some parts of the part it tickled my arms as I passed by making my scratch furiously to stop the itching. I pulled my backpack up high and hooked my thumbs into the lower straps so that my arms formed triangles next to my upper body. Another breeze blew past and I inhaled the fresh air that came along with it, you really didn't find air as clean as this in die Human World. And you never will since humans have destroyed it so badly with pollution and overpopulation. I stopped when I reached the stream, now not on ocean I thanked the heavens. I remembered how a hard time I had getting over it last time, having to use both my hands and feet to move from rock to rock. Now I leaped steadily from one rock to another until both my feet were firmly planted on the steps that led into town, if you could call it a town since it was more like a bunch of food stands put together to form one huge market. The food. The only reason that I was forced to stay here. Because my stupid parents decided to eat the food that was for the spirits of this world, not some mere mortals who believed that any problem could be solved by wiping out a credit card. I didn't even think that they take out money here. I wondered a lot what it must have felt like to be a pig, and every time I shuddered at the thought of not caring if I was lying in my own poop among the mud. Then I thought hit me with a jolt. My parents might have turned into pigs because they decided to eat the food, but me who ate nothing started to disappear the moment they started lighting the lanterns. What would happen to me now? I couldn't steal in food in fear of being turned into a pig or even possibly something worse than a pig. But if I ate nothing then I would disappear... Or maybe he would come help me again, bring me a piece of food and tell me that I was all right, that all of this wasn't a dream. Looking at my watch I saw the cursors had stopped moving all together and that my watch was stuck at a quarter past two, which meant I still had a lot of time before the sun set, but who ever said that time in the Spirit World was the same as in the Human World. For all I knew it could be time to light the lanterns any minute now and then I would be stuck to face the chance of disappearing. I hurried up the steps and past the first few food stands. All the food had already been laid out and like the first time there was no person- or spirit- to be seen anywhere. Taking things a little slower I moved past the remaining stands and walked up to the steps to the big clock that stood out from the rest of the place. It was just as big as I remembered it and according to cursors it was already past five. I had been right about the time in this world. Now my next big worry was when they would light the lanterns, they would decide to light them at any moment. For some reason my brain decided to click back into place at that moment because I suddenly remembered what lay beyond the clock, the place where everything started. The bridge. Its red paint seemed to glow in the fading light, almost as if was calling to me, urging me to walk over to it and before I was able to stop myself I stepped onto the bridge. How had I gotten all the way from the clock to the bridge without even realizing it? Forgetting about my sudden sleep walking I focused on the fact that the sun was starting to set which means that it was almost time for the people, I mean spirits, to arrive on the boat. It also meant that it was almost time for me to start fading away. Pulling myself together I took off in a run across the bridge since it seemed to be the only logical thing to do. The bridge made loud creaks beneath my boots and I kept visualizing it giving away beneath me. Luckily this didn't happen and I was now safely on the other side with the large bathhouse looming over me, looking as mysterious as ever. Everything still felt like a dream, an outer body experience and I couldn't escape the feeling that I would wake up any moment and be back in the building I had slept the night. Or worse, back in my own bed. Well if this was a dream then I was going to enjoy it for as long as possible, because it was the best thing that has happened to my in a while. It was at this moment that I turned around and noticed that some of the lanterns where being lit. Even when I faced to the front again I could see some activity starting to come to life inside the bathhouse, everyone must have starting waking up and preparing for the guest that were soon going to start arriving. Bouncing on the spot I contemplated what I had to do next. Going through the front entrance seemed a bit to reckless. They definitely weren't going to recognize me which meant that I would be chased out or turned to coal in a heartbeat. Since neither appealed to my better nature I tried to think of something else. Of course! How could I forget? The little gate that led into the garden next to the bathhouse, it was where I had gone through the last time wasn't it? A couple of figures caught my attention as they moved past the front doors and I bolted through the small gate and into the garden. It still looked exactly the same, even the flowers haven't changed since I hid here the last time. I gave out a little laugh when I realized that history seemed to be repeating itself, because here I was again, crouched between the Christmas Roses praying that I wouldn't be found. And it seemed that my only escape would be down the stairs again, the stupid stairs that had almost killed me the last time. Risking a look over the small gate I saw that some of the guests had already crossed the bridge where they were being greeted by some of the woman that worked in the bathhouse. Since everyone seemed pretty distracted to me I jumped out from where I'd been hiding and ran towards the stairs. I stood there for a few seconds, wondering if this was really worth all the trouble I was going to have to go through again just to get down to the boiler room. Taking a deep breath I started to descend down the stairs, my heart beating in my stomach since I was so scared I wanted to be sick. I was half way down the stairs when I heard voices from above me. Two women were standing at the top of the stairs and for some reason they didn't seem to notice me, I was standing right in their line of sight. How did they not notice I was there? I jerked my hand up in front of my eyes, inspecting it carefully. But I seemed to still be visible and not fading away, so that only meant that woman hadn't thought there would be anyone else using the stairs right now. And with the noise going on behind then they couldn't hear me either. It was now or never I told myself. I took a few deep breathes then started running down the steep steps, at least this time I seemed to have more control over the speed I was running. Nearing the end of the steps I started to slow down, putting my arms out in front of me to stop myself against the wall that was in front of me. Luckily the impact I made with the wall wasn't too painful, but my palms where a little scratched up. I looked over my back to see if the woman at the top had heard me or seen me, but they were chatting away and not even looked down to see if they were still on the stair case. I turned the corner and leaped down the last few steps before I reached the big metal door that led to the boiler room. It was then that I thought of the possibility of the boiler man not remembering who I was. I actually had not even been thinking of the boiler man until this moment, I only came down here on pure instinct. Brushing a few strands of hair out of my face I pushed the door open. It was heavy and I had to put all my weight into the push to get it all the way open. The moment I set foot inside I started to choke, steam filling my lungs and leaving me breathless for a few seconds. After my breathing seemed to have gone back to normal I closed the door behind me. I made my away across the tiny area with the metal geezers, the ones that let out all the steam that was suffocating me. I leaned against the wall for a moment trying now to worry about what could happen to me if the boiler man didn't recognize me after all these years. I stepped out from behind the wall and into the boiler room where the boiler man, Kamajii, was sitting in the middle of the room in his huge wooden box that qualified as his sleep place and work place. "Kamajii" my voice came out faint so I tried again when he didn't hear me. "Kamajii" my words came out stronger than the previous time and the boiler man turned to look in my direction, his six limbs never stopping what they were doing. I only then realized how much he did look like a spider, with his big beard and black glasses that covered his eyes. "A human, now how did you get here?" he asked, confirming the thing I feared the most. He didn't recognize me. I must have frozen because Kamajii was waving one of his hands in front of my face "My dear, hello". "I'm sorry" I leant out after I gasped in surprise "Don't you recognize me?" I added when my mouth unfroze. And then my mouth went into overdrive "Well I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't recognize me after all these years, I mean if you compare what I look like now to what I looked like the first time I was hear then even I would not have been able to recognize myself since a lot of things have happened and as to how I got here, I don't know. I ran away from home and now I'm here" I said, but stopping when I realized that Kamajii was staring at me with a glazed over expression, the one I get when my parents start yelling at me. "Sorry" I whispered, covering my face with my hands. Luckily I had been mistaken about what was going on in Kamajii's head, because he had caught after I had my little outburst "Sen, is that you?" he asked me. I lifted my face out of my hands; hope blooming in my heart as if Kamajii had called me by my real name. I had forgotten that the spirits here only knew me as Sen and Chihiro since that was the name that Yu-Baaba, the witch that runs the bathhouse, had given me when I signed a contract to work here. Luckily my contract was broken when I broke the spell on my parents which meant that I didn't have to go by Sen anymore now that I'm back. "Yes, but my real name is Chihiro, remember?" I couldn't recall whether I had told him my real name or not so I just assumed that he called my Sen because that's what everyone called me. I mean hell, even I forgot what my real name was after a while. "Yes of course, Sen was the name you got when you signed that contract" he had stopped working for a while, but that was only because he was now turning in his seat, facing the back of the room where the wall was lined with shelves that contained herbs if I could remember correctly. "GET A MOVE ON YOU LITTLE MAGGOTS! YOU DON'T HAVE ALL NIGHT TO GET THE WATER HOT!" Kamajii yelled at the top of his lungs and it took me a few seconds to catch on to what he was doing. I hopped down from the platform I was standing on and crossed the space that was between me and the boiler man. Once I was safely on the other side I turned around to watch in fascination as hundreds of small black creatures started coming out from beneath the wall from what seemed to be holes cut into the base of the wall. It was the soot that Kamajii had put a spell on so that it could carry coal to the furnace that was raging on the opposite side of the room. Even from where I was standing behind Kamajii's little bed-desk-thing I could feel the heat radiating off of it and since I knew how it felt up close as well I didn't make any move to be put back in that situation. After Kamajii had finished threatening the poor little soot balls he turned so that we were now facing each other. "Well my dear, you really have grown up to be a very beautiful girl. And it's not that I don't want you here, I just want to know why it is that you have returned?" he asked once I settled myself down on the floor next to him. I thought about this question before I answered "I didn't actually plan to, I sort of ran away from home. I planned to hide away just for a little while to scare my parents since I thought it would help change their minds about moving, but then I had been hiding out in what my dad called the old amusement park building when I heard the police so I slipped out through the back and now here I am" I explained, taking a deep breath afterwards. "That is quite the little tale you have there, I don't really understand why you thought that running away was the solution? Was there now other way to work through it?" Kamajii asked and I was about to explain to him about how unreasonable my parents where when there was a sound of rocks being thrown down a gutter. The noise stopped and what seemed to be small wooden planks fell from the ceiling and dangled in front of Kamajii's bed. I instantly recognized them as the wooden tokens that were used to order the type of bath water you needed. All you had to do was get one from the foreman, attach it to a piece a rope that was behind a hidden panel in die room with the bath in, pull the token that was now attached to the rope down and then Kamajii would send you the water you needed. It all worked very smoothly and I knew this because I had to do it once and hopefully never again. What started with an argument with the foreman ended with me freeing a very important spirit who had been trapped in pollution from our world. "Listen Kamajii, I'll come again later. I know how hectic things are for you when the bathhouse opens, I just want to know whether or now I should go see Yubaba or not?" I asked while Kamajii turned to look at the tokens. "Yes, I think that would be a wise choice since she can't force you to sign a contract now. The only problem is that you don't want to be stopped half way there, so take this and put it in your pocket" he said to me without turning around. While he talked his one arm moved past me to a drawer in the top right hand corner on the wall, where he removed some of its contents. I reached out and took the herbs from him, sniffing it before shoving a handful in each of my front pockets of my jean. It had a sweet smell, almost like roses but also not. "You're probably wondering what that is. It's normal grass that I charmed to smell different to everyone who gets a whiff of it, which means that no one will smell your human smell" Kamajii said to me while I removed my boots and socks, relieved that I had decided to paint my toe-nails a baby blue earlier the week. That explained the roses smell, I wondered what it smelt like to him and was about to ask before I saw that he had stopped paying attention to me and was now hard at work with the herbs for the water. I put my sock in my boots and placed them next to the bed before I slipped out of the sliding door, crouched since I was too tall to just slip through like the last few times. Luckily none of the workers seemed to notice this. I was now on my way to meet the witch.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

(Disclaimer: The interior of the bath house is my personal view of it. Meaning that the inside might not actually look this way).

The bathhouse's interior still looks pretty much the same. With the first floor where the bath tubes where located, the second served as a giant restaurant if that's what you could call in and then the top floor that belonged to Yubaba. What lay between the third floor and Yubaba's floor I didn't know. Below the first floor there were the servant's quarters that were divided into male and female, along with the kitchen. Even further below the kitchen were the boiler room and the rooms where they stored the food. I knew all this because without Lin's help it was a bit harder to find my way from the boiler room to Yababa's floor. First I had to sneak past some woman that walked by die boiler room and then up the first flight of stairs I could find. This put me in what seemed to be a little gathering room with three exits. I recalled that the one to the left took you to the sleeping quarters for the female workers and that obviously meant that the one to the right led to the men's sleeping quarters. This left me with the entrance left in front of me and since I had to keep moving until I at least reached the baths I took off running through the door and down the hall. At the end of this hallway was a large room with many elevators, obviously so that you could get around easier and since I could somewhat remember how to operate them I took the first one I could ride alone. I found it strange that the workers didn't seem to sense my presence when I was around, but at least it meant that the herbs Kamaji had given me were working. I stood there in the elevator for a few minutes trying to remember how to operate it when I heard voices heading my way. I grabbed the handle and pushed in to the bottom and then all the way to the top. For some reason I felt that these elevators worked the same way one of those old telephones with the circle dial did. The elevator groaned loudly but started to ascend. Finally I reached the top floor, making quick work of the space left to the door that led to Yubaba's room, or more like and apartment. Standing silently for a few moments I tried to collect myself by taking a few deep breathes and running my hands through my tangled mess of hair. After I was able to pull my fingers through my hair without it being caught I slowly put my hands on the door to push it open. A memory sparked in my brain and I pulled my hands away, remembering that the last time I had tried to push the door open the door knockers that looked like Yababa was extremely mean to me. "Agh, I see you have gained some respect over the years" the door knockers said as if reading my mind. I stared at it for a few moments before answering "Yes, I'm sorry for being so rash the last time". Being mean to a door knockers seemed like a new kind of low to me so I just went for another strategy. Charming my way into the apartment. I still seemed like a long shot, but since Yubaba wasn't expecting me this time I had no other choice if I wanted the door to open. "Apology accepted, but I should probably inform you that Yubaba is away along with Haku. They should be back within a few hours and for the time being Zeniba is looking after the bath house" the small Yubaba said, her eyes rolling around, but I was happy that she told me this since I would much rather see Zeniba than Yubaba. "Thank you for telling me this, would it be an inconvenience if I went in to say hello, I have missed Zeniba a lot" I asked in the most mature voice I could muster. As a response the door swung open and a thanked the door knocker as I walked inside. The inside of apartment still looked exactly the same as it used to, plush rugs and beautiful art work on the walls. The only problem was that I had no idea how to get to Yubaba's office form here since she had used a spell to "fly" me there last time and I wasn't so concerned to where I was going since I was terrified of flying straight into a wall. As if the rug beneath my feet could feel my frustration it started to move, wiggling to get out from under me. I took a step back and the carpet pulled free and started to move forward, luckily it led me straight to Yubaba's office. I pushed the heavy double doors open and stepped into the room. It was as dimly lit as ever, only a few lamps were turned on and the fire was burning as well. Sitting in front of a spinning wheel next to the fire was my favorite of the two twins, Zeniba. She as well not has been related to Yubaba because of how different they were. Where Yubaba was cold and only after power and money, Zeniba was kind and generous. She had helped me when I went to her to return the seal that he had stolen. Zeniba looked up from the piece she was spinning and our eyes met, sending a new wave of nervousness through my body. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked in her kind voice and something inside me clicked. Tears started flowing down my cheeks and my legs gave out beneath me. I hit the floor with a dull thud and buried my face in my hands. I wasn't sad because she didn't remember me, I was sad because something in her voice reminded me of the kind of love that I haven't been given in a long time. Not the kind of love my parent's game me, that was because I was their daughter or at least I use to be their daughter before everything changed. "O I'm sorry, have I said something wrong?" Zeniba asked as she rushed over to see if I was okay. "No, you did nothing wrong. I'm sorry for just breaking into the tears like that" I managed to say between gasps, the type that sent your whole body rocking. Once I had calmed down Zeniba extended a hand to help me up and I took it without hesitating "You most likely don't recognize me, but it's me. Chihiro" I said as she helped me to stand up again "I came back". Zeniba stared at my for a few seconds before she pulled me into a hug, the kind your grandmother gave you. I snuggled into her and let myself go for a while, forgetting about all my problems. "It's a miracle, how did you get back? O never mind all that, I missed you so much after you left dear little Chihro" she said to me as she held me. "Although-" she said as she pulled me away from her but still keeping a firm grip on my shoulders "-you don't seem to be so little anymore, you have grown up well. How long has it been? 6, 7 Years?" she asked as she led me to the nearest chair and sat me down in it. She clicked her fingers and another one popped up next to mine and she sat down as well. "Seven years, I'm turning seventeen soon" I said once she was seated firmly next to me. "I really can't believe it's been so long" she said after a brief silence "Would you like some tea? Something hot to relieve the stress". I nodded and she once again clicked her fingers. A round table appeared, holding two tea cups and a pot with tea already in it. The aroma that filled the room was enough to make my stomach growl when I realized that I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. "I see we're a little hungry too" Zeniba laughed and I plate of sandwiches appeared on the tabled next to my cup that Zeniba was already filling for me. Trying not to look too greedy I took of the sandwiches from the plate and bit into it. It was amazing, like nothing I had ever tasted before. It wasn't exactly sure what was on it and frankly I was a bit scared to ask so I just kept my mouth busy by eating sandwich after sandwich, savoring each bite. I didn't know exactly how it happened but before I knew it the food and tea was gone and I felt so full that I could have died right there and not mind. Zeniba had sat patiently the entire time while I ate my full before she asked me another question "Now tell me, how did you get here? You should have forgotten everything after you left the spirit world last time". This statement took me a little of guard since I remembered everything as bright as day, so I told Zeniba exactly what I had told Kamaji. After I had finished a large yawn escaped from between my teeth and I tried to hide it. Zeniba smiled brightly "It seems that you are tired as well, would you like to go to bed? I can have one arranged in no time." she said, stroking my hair. Sleep did sound amazing, but I was too scared that if I went to sleep then I would wake up back in the human world. No, I wanted to make this last a little longer. I at least wanted to see him before going back to my normal life. "No, I'm fine. Just a little warn out, but I'll be fine once the food kicks in" I said, giving my most convincing smile. It seemed to work since Zeniba smiled back at me while getting back up out of her chair. She was about to say something to me when I big commotion erupted from somewhere in the bath house. "O dear, it seems that we have a little problem. Just stay here for a while and I'll be back" she said as she walked to the door. Once she was outside I waited a few minutes, but the curiosity got the best of me and I silently followed the way she had gone.

The noise had come from the baths. From what I could tell something was happening on the far side of the room, where the slide doors had been opened onto a balcony that went out over the water below. I was standing by the railing on the floor above, but since I couldn't see very well from I went down one of the elevators and pushed my way to the front of the crowd. This would have been hard if Kamaji had not given me the herbs since there where so many people who wanted to see what was happening. Once I had reached the front it took me a while to realize what was happening in front of me. On the balcony were three men, a little girl and an older woman. The three men where obviously guests and the child and woman workers. The three men all looked the same, with big white masks over their faces (mind you, this could also have been their faces), black bath robes and greenish skin showing where the robe didn't cover up. I didn't know who the little girl or the woman was, but one of the three men had the girl by the back of her uniform and the woman was pleading with them to forgive her. Something about her not knowing how the tokens worked and that she didn't mean to give them the wrong water. The three men where obviously very angry and they didn't seem to even care that it was a child that they were hurting. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse before Zeniba arrived at the scene. Where had she been? I left the office after her and had been standing here a good five minutes. By now the little girl was wailing loudly and the woman also looked like she was about to burst out in tears herself. "Honored guests, my I ask what the problem is?" Zeniba asked the men, obviously trying not to make them anymore angry. Than man holding the little girl spoke up "The problem is that this wretched little beast gave us the wrong bath water and after me told her to fix it she said there was nothing she could do!" he yelled, spit flying everywhere from the mask, which was his face after all. "I see and I will do something about this. How about we step into my office and talks about this, no casualties are needed to resolve this problem" Zeniba told the man, but he didn't seem to be buying it. "It is kind of you to take pity on this girl, but we believe that punishment is needed to gain results and if you don't plan on doing so then we'll have to do it ourselves" the man next to the one holding the girl said, crossing his arms over his chest. Zeniba didn't seem to know what to do since she's never had do handle a situation like this one; Yubaba was the one who knew what to do. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two people walking over two the railing one floor above me, but I didn't think much of it. Probably more guests who came to see what was going on. I turned my attention back to the three men when the one who hadn't said anything started talking "Maybe we would consider let her off if we could have something in return. Like say you" he point at the woman who was on her knees, a steady stream of tears now flowing down me face "Me-eme?" she asked, but her words came out slurred. "Yes, we will let the girl down if we can have her" the man holding the girl said to Zeniba. "I am sorry, but that is out of the question. This woman is contracted to me and she shall not leave" Zeniba said with a stoic expression, she was getting irritated with these men. The only thing was that Zeniba didn't know how these men operated and for some reason my body went into action mode, ready to pounce if needed. And it seemed that the two people who had been walking over what to see what was going on from above had moved as close to the action as they could from above. "Well them we'll go ahead and punish this girl as wee see fit" the man said, walking over to the railing. It was an extremely long way down and there was no chance of surviving a drop like that, but the man didn't seem to care if the girl died. I gasped as he swung her over the railing, her whole body struggling against him. I had to do something because he would throw her over without even thinking twice about it. I looked around at the people standing around me, but they didn't seem to be planning on making a move from stopping the man. "Okay then, it seems that we won't be coming to an agreement any time soon" the man said and he let go of the girl, but not before I had shot forward. I sprinted past the other two men, reaching forward to grab the girl's hand. I guess you could say it was unfortunate that I was able to save the girl since my method caused me to go spinning down myself; head first to what I assumed was my death. After I had torn past the two other men I jumped forward onto the railing and grabbed the girl's hand, swinging her around and throwing her onto the deck. And that's why I was now falling through the air. All I could think was that it seemed to make sense that this was how everything was going to end. There's always a catch when you get something that you've searching for a very long time and now that I'd found it I was about to die. Luckily I heard you died instantly when you hit the water below from the height I had fallen. I closed my eyes just as I saw another figure being thrown over the railing, but it was hard to make out who it was since my hair was now covering my entire face. I figured they threw the girl over after I took the plunge, but the person was moving too fast to be a little girl. Almost as if the person was flying faster than the gravitational pull of the earth, if that theory did apply in this world. My brain snapped back into action and I extended my hand forward, arching my back so that I could reach the person who was now almost within touching distance. Then my breath caught in my throat and my entire body went limp, because there he was. His name escaped my lips.

"Haku"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

He was almost one me, his one hand reaching for mine. He was yelling something over the roar of the wind in my ears. "Take my hand!" I heard him when he got closer and my body moved on it's own as my hand reached once again for his. He still looked like Haku, but he had defiantly grown up. But from this point of view it was hard to tell what was different while trying not to look down. Luckily all of these thoughts zapped out of my head when our hands touched. An electric spark ran up my arm as he pulled my up to where he was now falling. My other hand shot out to grab his and we were both falling feet first now. My hair was now above my head so I had a clear vision of Haku as he was falling with me. He was beautiful. His black hair was whipping madly around his face and his eyes seemed to shine in the darkness. Our eyes met and locked. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out as we plummeted down to the water which had almost reached us. Haku saw the panic that spread across my face and took one of his hands away from mine. This action made me want to cry, but when he wrapped the arm around my waist I was glad that I hadn't died after eating the food Zeniba had given me earlier because then I would have missed this. I pulled me so close that we were touching practically and whispered, or screamed, in my ear "Hold on tight!" and I did. I wrapped my free arm around his neck and then the other when he let go of my hand to join his one arm with his other arm around waist. I took me a while to realize that we were gradually slowing down, but not nearly fast enough. "Haku!" escaped my lips when we came to a stop, mid-air. All my hair came dangled down around my face, but I was too scared to let go of him to push my hair away. "It's okay now, I won't let you go Chihiro. Never again" he said the last part so softly that I wondered if I had imagined it and I pulled away in shock. I stared at him, my mouth in a large O before a spoke "You recognize me?" I asked. "Yes, but now's not the right time to catch up. We'll talk once I sort out what going one up there" he said. We started to move upwards, very fast and before I knew it we were standing on the railing, the group of people staring at us in sheer astonishment. In one swift we had dropped onto the deck in front of the three men. I came out of my daze and anger flooded my veins. They had actually tried to throw that little girl over and then they forced me to get myself involved. They were going to get it, get it good. I untangled myself from Haku and stood a few spaces away from him, shaking out my arms to get some feeling back into them. "Now, seeing as you don't have anything more to gain anything, may I ask you to leave the bath house and not return" Haku said in a voice that spelt dead calm and that he was not to be messed with. But obviously everyone except the three men heard this in his voice since they weren't done. Before I could do anything he had me pulled up against his chest, one arm choking me. Up put my hands up to stop him from completely crushing my wind pipe "Trying anything funny and she goes" he said to Haku who had raised one of his hands at them, but instantly lowered it again. "That's better" the man said, releasing me a little bit so that air once again flowed freely through my lungs. I had to get away. Luckily the man holding me was so occupied with watching Haku that he didn't realize when I moved my feet, one in front of the other, giving me balance when I threw the man over my shoulder. He gasped loudly as he hit the ground, spit once again flying everywhere. One of his friends' advanced on me, but it was futile. I simply side stepped him to the left, put my right foot behind his left, my right hand in the center of his chest and pushed as hard as I could. He tried taking a step back but tripped over my right foot. Two down, one to go. The last man looked at his friends on the floor and decided to take his chance. He raised his arms, hands pulled into tight fists, and stood with his legs open. "Bring it on" he said and that's exactly what I did. I ran straight at him and at the last minute dropped. I slid under his legs and once I came to the other side I got up in a crouched position. This al happened before the man was able to turn and I got him square in the back with my foot, sending him forward. But he was a better fighter than his friends and was able to turn around instead a falling. The kick had caused met to lose my stance and I was momentarily vulnerable. My attacker saw this as his chance and lunged at me, but before he could reach me Haku had jumped into action. He jumped in front of the man and with the side of his hand hit the man's upper left leg. The leg gave way and with a cry the man tried to punch Haku, but Haku was faster. He dodged the man's fist and once again hit the man just below the shoulder with the side of his hand. The arm went limp. I was completely mesmerized by Haku's movements; he was graceful when he fought. The man raised his other hand and aimed it at Haku's stomach and it would have hit home if Haku hadn't disappeared for a split second and repapered behind the man and with one final blow to the side of his neck the man fell to the ground. Whether he was dead or unconscious I didn't know. "O dear, I was hoping to avoid violence in this situation" I heard Zeniba say, but all my attention was on Haku. He was standing next to the guy he had just taken down, dusting imaginary dust from his shoulder. He was tall, very much so indeed. His hair was still as long as it was when we first met but now it was uneven, hanging down his neck and over his eyes if he didn't push it back. You could see that he was fit by the way he moved, almost as if he was floating. He looked up at Zeniba and smile "Sorry Zeniba, I had also planned on a more peaceful approach, but it seems that things were out of my hand" he said, looking at me when he spoke the last bit. "Zeniba, when will you learn that using power is the only thing that will gain results?" another voice said from above "Trying to coax them into leaving, ha" the voice laughed. Then Yubaba was floating down to land next to her twin sister. "It's nice of you to join in Yubaba. What were you thinking, leaving everything for poor Haku to figure out" Zeniba said once Yubaba was firmly planted on the ground next to her. Yubaba shrugged and walked over to where Haku had dragged the three men into sitting positions against one of the walls. "They're alive" Haku said simply and Yubaba turned to face the crowd who had grown so silent that I had forgotten they were even there. "I am truly sorry for this little show you all had to live through, please enjoy free baths for the rest of the evening and have a save trip home" she said and the crowd gave a cheer. As they dispersed Yubaba came over to me. "So, who might you be and who gave you permission to interfere?" she asked in a tone that froze me to the bone, luckily I had gotten use to standing up for myself and wasn't that afraid of her anymore. "It's me Chihiro, I mean Sen, and I didn't know I needed permission to save someone's' live" I said, my frankness taking her aback. "I see. It's good to see you've grown some back bone Sen, the last time we met you were just a pathetic little human girl" she said, looking me up and down. "My name is not Sen, it's Chihiro" I corrected her, but she just waved it off and continued "I'm guessing that now you need somewhere to stay and I'm sorry to tell you that we have no place for you if you do not work" she said. I knew what she meant by that, she was telling me that I had to sign a contract or leave. I was about to tell her that if that's what it took then I'd do it, but Haku interfered. "She can stay in my bedroom, I'll sleep with the rest of the men" he said as he walked over to us "She won't sign another one of your contracts Yubaba, I forbid it". Yubaba obviously wasn't in the mood to start another fight so she simply said that it was his problem and that he had to look after me until I had to leave. "I will do so then" Haku said as Yubaba walked over to Zeniba who was busy doing something with the men against the wall. I looked like she was tying them together with a piece of rope that she must have manifested while none of us were looking. Now it was just me and Haku. I was about to say something when he grabbed my hand, forcefully in fact, and started dragging me down the aisle between the bathes. All the way people thanked us for taking a stand, but Haku barely seemed to hear them. We reached one of the elevators, but it was packed with guests. In a single motion Haku swung me up in to his arms and jumped up one level to the floor above us. He continued doing this until we reached Yubaba's floor. Once there he put me down again and continued his parade of pulling me behind him. "Haku stop! You're hurting me" I yelled him but he didn't stop, only loosened his grip a little bit. We walked through the front door, through Yubaba's office and through a door on the other side. On the other side of the door was what seemed to be a tower, with stairs circling the walls all the way to a room above us. We reached the top of the stairs and Haku flung the door open to the room inside. Haku waved his free hand and all the lights in the room went on. The inside of the room was amazing, even though it wasn't very big. To my left there was a four poster double bed with plush dark blue bedding. The four posts of the bed where all connected by white silk that also hung down to the floor at each post. At the wall in front of me was a desk that was piled high with books and next to it was a bookcase that was over flowing, which was probably why the desk was also covered in books. To my right was a window that reached from the ceiling to the floor and also had a door that led outside onto the balcony. Thick blue curtains were tied to the sides of the window by leather slings; it almost made the balcony look like a stage. I was so mesmerized by the room that I didn't even notice when Haku let go of my hand and walked over to go lean on the desk. I walked into the room and stood by the window, staring out into the darkness. "What were you thinking?" Haku finally asked, he sounded angry. "I'm sorry?" I asked, not able to understand what he was talking about. "Those men could have hurt you, even killed you" he said.

"They didn't"

"They could have"

"But they didn't and I'm completely fine. I don't understand what you're getting all worked up bout" I said, my voice firm. Haku took his hand away from his face and sighed. In my exprerience this was a good thing, it meant that I had won. He stood up and walked over to come and stand beside me. We stood like this for a while, not saying a word. I tore my eyes away from the ocean outside and looked up at Haku before talking "How did you know it was me when you jumped after me?" I asked after a while. He waited a while before looking down at me and answering "I didn't. Something just told me that if you hit the water you would die, so I jumped..." he paused "But when our eyes met a instantly knew it was you, even though my head kept telling me that it was impossible" he continued, a small smile forming at the end of his sentence. We once again just stood there, but this time not looking out at the view. His hand slowly lifted up and brushed stray hair away from my eyes. He hesitated a second before returning it to his side once again. "Your hair had grown" he remarked lamely and I gave a little laugh. His must have found my reaction funny, because before long both of us were clutching our bellies. I slid down the glass and stretched my legs out before me and Haku followed my lead even before I reached the floor. "It's been so long hasn't it?" I asked, cocking my head to the side to get a look at his facial expression. "You must be like nineteen or something right?" I continued when he didn't reply. He shifted slightly and answered "I guess you could say that's how old I am, but here our age works a little different here in the spirit world" he said and continued when he saw my puzzled expression "Most people can't change their age, they are stuck in the form they arrived. These are low ranked spirits. Then you get the higher ranked spirits who can keep changing, like keep growing and then when they get bored they can start again" he tried to explain, but it didn't make much sense to me. He tried again "Take me for instance. When we met I was a twelve year old boy and now I look different, older. But in fact it's not my age that's changing, I just decided that I didn't want to have the appearance of a young boy anymore so I changed it" he stated matter of factly. I guess it made sense in a way. "Okay, I think I understand..." I try to say but another yawn cut me off. "You're tired" Haku observed, but I denied it, telling him what I told Zeniba when she asked me the question. But Haku could see that I was lying "Are you scared that someone will try and hurt you if you go to sleep?" he ask in a kind voice. I shook my head "I'm not scared if anyone, I'm scared that if I go to sleep then I'll wake up in my own bed and then all of this would be a dream" I said as I pulled my legs up and wound my arms around them. "This isin't a dream Chihiro. I, and everyone else, will still be here when you wake up and you really need to get some sleep" he said, pulling me up from the ground. "How can you promise that? I don't think I would be able to live with pain if this wasn't real" I said as tears started to form in my eyes, but I blinked them away. "Oky, I 'll show you something. Just go get in bed so long" he said as he went over to the desk, removing some books to reveal a plush chair next to it. I went over to the bed and pulled the covers away. It felt very good when I slipped in under them and pulled them up under my arms. Haku had picked the hair up and put it down next to the bed, sitting down in it. "Give me your hand" he instructed and I did as he asked. He took my hand and intertwined our fingers. After this he hovered his free hand over our and a glow radiated around our hands. When the light faded away Haku spoke again. "Try pulling your hand away" he said and I tried pulling my hand away, but it was pointless since I couldn't even lift my fingers. "What did you do?" I asked when he smiled at my attempt. "It's a spell. Only if I let go then you can take your hand back" he said and I got what he was trying to do. "Now lie back and sleep" he said as he laid his own head against the chair. Without saying a word I closed my eyes and fell asleep instantly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

I woke up late that morning, keeping my eyes closed as long as possible. I wasn't scared that if I opened my eyes I would be in my own bed because I could still feel Haku's hand in my own. I just didn't want to open my eyes because I could feel hot breath against my neck and an arm slung over my body. Then there was thee little fact that I was lying on top of Haku, when would I have this chance again? Now I only had to figure out how I had gotten into the position I was currently occupying. I was certain that when I had fallen asleep Haku had been sitting in the chair next to the bed, not sleeping peacefully under me. Then I realized it was because he was still holding my hand. He promised that he wouldn't let go and he didn't. What was I thinking; of course he would get uncomfortable sleeping in a chair all night. He must have gotten in next to me during the night. Wow, I hadn't pictured Haku as a guy who takes any chance he gets. Haku stirred and slowly opened his eyes. They were right; there really was nothing hotter than a sleepy guy. When his eyes met mine I could feel my entire face turning as red as a tomato. It took him while to understand why I was blushing so ferociously, but when he got the picture he snapped into action very fast. He shot up, sending me sprawling off the side of the bed and onto the hard floor. "Shit" I whispered softly as I sat up rubbing my elbow which happened to hit the floor first. "Chihiro!" Haku called out before he got out of the bed and knelt down to help me stand up from the floor. "I'm so sorry, I panicked when... Well you know" he said shyly and blushed a little. His hair was a little rustled and his clothes were creased, how could I possibly be mad at him when he looked like that. "I guess it's my fault for letting a guy trick me so easily" I said with fake disappointment "I should have known your true intensions Haku" I continued my charade of mock hurt. For extra dramatic effect I turned around and through my arm up to cover my face, this also helped since I wanted to burst out laughing at the expression on Haku's face. Luckily he caught "Hay! It's not my fault you literally threw me into the bed when you turned around in your sleep, all I did was keep my promise" with the same mock expression on his face. I burst out laughing and he joined in. Once I finally calmed myself down I asked him again "But really now, what happened last night after I fell asleep?". He looked at me, pushing his hair out of this face before he replied "Nothing, I swear. After you fell asleep you started to roll around. I tried to wake you up but you slept like a rock, you didn't even wake you up when I stood up to shake you awake. It was then that you pulled me over you. I figured that the best way for you was for me to just sleep next to you on the cover and that's when I fell asleep as well" he said, raising his hands like a sign of innocence. I laughed again and felt the blood rushing up to my cheeks. Haku went over to the windows and flung the doors open, stepping out into the sunshine. I could feel the heat pouring into the room from outside and realized that I was still wearing my clothes I had been wearing for the past two days. "Haku, would it be possible to take a bath somewhere?" I asked as I stepped out into the hot sun, my entire body starting to heat up. He thought about this for a minute "Not a problem" he answered and walked past me back into the room, calling for me to follow him. We walked down the stairs and into Yubaba's office. The witch was sitting at her desk, perfectly dressed and made up. She looked up from the papers she was reading when we walk in, her hands pulling the pair of glasses she was wearing from her face. "What is it? I am very busy" she said bluntly, almost as if she was dismissing us before we could say anything. "Chihiro needs to take a bath, may she use your bathroom?" he asked, getting straight to the point since spinning stories obviously wasn't something Yubaba enjoyed very much. "Fine, but make it quick" she said, returning to her paper work. I followed Haku as he walked past behind Yubaba and throught the door that Boh had kicked down when I first came here. Boh! I had almost forgotten about him. I wondered what he looked now and if it was even possible for him to age like Haku could. We followed the hall way and turned right at the fork, this led straight to the bathroom's door. I knew this at least since I had snuck in through the bathroom window when I had tried to reach Haku after he had been attacked by Zeniba's little flying paper men. "Okay, is there anything you need?" he asked me when we stopped in front of the closed the door. I thought about this for a moment and realized that I would need my clothes that I had packed into my back pack. "I need my backpack. I left it in the office last night, would you go fetch it for me?" I asked, opening the door and stepping inside. Haku smiled and turned to go get it. I stood alone in the bathroom looking at all the things. I ran my hands over the tub which was basically a mini pool since it had to fit Yubaba who didn't have the slimmest body. There were shelved lined with lotions and herbs in little glass bottles. I walked back to the bath and turned the taps until water started flowing into the tub. Steam rose up from the water and made me realize how sweaty and dirty I really was. I pulled of my shirt and took of my jeans, tossing them next to the bath tub. There was a knock on the door and I hurried over to go get the things from Haku. I opened the door just enough for Haku to pass me my bag, but not nearly wide enough for him to see me in my underwear. "Yubaba said you should use some of the products on the shelves to get rid of the human smell" he said and I thanked him, closing the door. Before I got into the bath I took out the clothes I planned on wearing. My bleached jean shorts and normal light blue, V-neck T-shirt. It sat tight on me and showed my curves of nicely. After this I went over to the nearest shelf and to my amazement there were bottles labeled 'shampoo' and 'conditioner'. I even found something that resembled a bar of soap. Gathering my goodies I carried them over to the bath tub, that was almost full, and laid them down on the stand next to it. I turned that taps off and tested the water before removing the last of my clothing and slipping into the tub. The water felt like it was burning not only the filth away from my body but also the problems that I had been dealing with for the last two days. Once it felt like the water had cooled down enough I pulled my head underwater and staying down, gasping for air when I finally came up. The bottle that was labled shampoo smelt amazing, almost as if it sunshine stuffed in there. I rinsed and use conditioner the second time around. After this was down I grabbed the nearest sponge and started scrubbing my entire body free from dirt and sweat. I lay there for a few more minutes before I got out and dried myself off. It was refreshing to put on new clothes, it felt like days since I had done something as simple as that. I instantly felt less agitated when I was wearing less hot clothes, almost as if I had peeled away at the thing that was making me so hot and bothered. I took the towel and started drying my hair off, but after I realized that it was futile I decided to just let it air dry. I put all my things back in my bag, including my dirty clothes. I would have to ask Haku where I could wash my clothes since I didn't know how long I would be staying this time. I opened the door and stepped into the hallway, steam threading by my sides. Since there was no one in the hall or Yubaba's office I decided to go back to the room in the tower. The stairs where much easier now since I wasn't so tired anymore and I made it to the top in no time. I hadn't been expecting any one to be in the room, but when I opened the door (without knocking) Haku stood there... Shirtless. I stood there staring like a moron before my entire face lit up like stick of dynamite. By now I had already walked into the room and closed the door which meant there was nowhere that I could run. I threw my hands up to cover my face and this action caused my bag to fall to my feet. "I'm sorry!" I said hoping that my voice didn't really come out as squeaky as I thought it did. "It's okay Chihiro, you can open your eyes" Haku said and I could hear him laughing at me, why would he laugh at me? He was the one standing half naked in the room! "Why are you laughing at me?" I asked bewildered, removing my hands from my face. Haku still hadn't put on a shirt and I couldn't tell if this bothered me or not. No it did, and totally planned on telling him that until he walked over to me. I took one step back for the one step he took forward until my back pressed up against the door, but Haku kept coming at me. "What, haven't you seen a man without his shirt on?" he asked, putting his one hand next to my face so that he was leaning over me. My face must have given away the answer to that question, because a look of surprise crossed his face before he spoke "What? Are you really that innocent?" he asked without backing away from me "No I'm not. It's your fault for undressing in random places". When I said this he actually moved in closer until his mouth was inches away from mine and said "O, you're not? Then you won't mind if I do this" he whispered before his mouth was on my neck. I felt a sharp prick and then my natural instincts kicked in. Before he could back away I had my hands planted firmly on his chest and pushed him away. I was so embarrassed that I didn't what to do from there on out. I could feel tears coming and a burning sensation in my right hand. Haku stood in front of me cradling the side of his face. It took me a while to connect the dots before I realized that I had slapped him pretty hard. I turned, opened the door behind me and bolted out. Hot tears ran down my cheeks before I could wipe them away and neck hurt where he had done whatever to it. Why had he done that? Was it his idea of fun or was he actually trying to get something out of me? Either way it didn't matter. I had no idea where I was going; all I knew was that I had to get away from the bath house as far as possible. Before I knew it I was out of the front entrance and across the bridge. I looked up at the clock as I ran past it and saw that it was 12 o'clock which meant that there was a few hours left before it became dark. I reached the river before I stopped, gasping for breath. Somehow I knew he was already there waiting for me, but that didn't mean that I had to talk to him. I sat down at the top of the steps and Haku did the same. And that's how I stayed for a very long time, ignoring Haku. A soft breeze swept across the valley, making the grass dance along with strands of dry hair trailing across my face. This was getting annoying. "Go away Haku" I said without turning to look at him, because I knew that if I did this he would see how red my eyes were from crying. Either he wasn't listening or he just didn't care because he made no move to leave after I told him to. I couldn't sit still anymore; I would go crazy if I didn't start moving again. So I jumped up from the step and walked over to the lowest step before I jumped onto the nearest rock and then to the next and the next before I reached the other side of the small river. Haku got up and followed me when I walked down the path that led back to the old building that brought me here a yesterday. We walked in silence and it didn't bother me one bit since I had nothing to say to him. Even so there was something that stopped me from going into the building. "What's wrong?" Haku asked from behind me "Why don't you go back home?" he continued when I just stared at the door in front of me without making a move to open it. If I opened the door there would be a chance that I could never come back here and this scared me more than confronting Haku because of what he did to me earlier. I still couldn't understand why he did it. He had more than enough chances to try something on me last night, but he didn't. What could have changed his attitude towards me so drastically? I was with him since the moment we saw each other again. The only time he was out of my sight was when I had taken a bath... Where had he gone in that time? Come to think of it, Yubaba was also gone from her office when I returned from my bath. Had they talked about me? How had I not seen it earlier! She said something to him to make him do something for me to leave. I turned around to look at him. At this point I didn't care anymore, I let the tears flow freely down my cheeks. "So that's your plan?" I calmly asked Haku who was standing close by and when he simply looked at me with a sad expression I understood that it was never his plan. "Who told you to get rid of me?" I asked again, my voice coming out clear and strong through my river of tears. Once again the look on his face told me everything that I needed to know. I took one step forward and then another until I was planted firmly against his chest. He didn't hesitate when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me even tighter against him until there was nothing separating us from each other. "I'm sorry" he whispered in my ear, his voice tight with emotion, but what emotion it was I didn't know. I answered him by wrapping my arms around him as well. The wind rustled around us and we pulled apart when we realized how long we've been just standing there. "We should go back?" Haku said silently without looking away from me, almost as if he was just saying it because he had to instead of that he wanted to. I nodded and walked past him up the path back to river. Maybe things would work out for me here in the spirit world? Who knew, this could be where I belonged after all.


End file.
